My first fic since really long time. After I've finished watching Luke Cage, I've got invaded by plot bunnies about Defenders interacting with each other. One such plot involved Luke Cage meeting father Lantom. But I decided to first arrange a meeting between father Latte and Punisher.

I admit, it's not one of my best work. So tear me apart in reviews.

In a dark place

And so Frank Castle was in New York again.

He had a mission to do here. He was, of course, undercover and careful not to get caught… but he also was hoping to see an old friend.

The last time, when he had seen this friend, he was fighting with ninjas and Frank was happy to kill few of them to ease the man with his struggles (because Red couldn't kill them since he had this rule against killing which Frank was many times finding annoying, but oh, well… they were long past the ethical discourse). The Punisher also have heard about "Nelson and Murdock" getting disbanded and Karen mentioned that she broke up with Red, because of his shitty behavior… But this was all Frank knew, since he had his own problems.

Still, he was sometimes wondering how Daredevil was doing. Was he still a lawyer? Or maybe he focused on vigilantism fully? Did he mend his relationship with his best friend and Karen?

Frank was surprised to having all those thoughts. After all, Matt Murdock was a nuisance (and sometimes even a dick). He was this stupid type of people, who believe that everybody is fundamentally good and deserves a chance. Even when they are the Punisher…

Anyway, Frank thought that he should meet with Red and ask for a favor in Punisher's newest mission. He thought that he could use some back up from other vigilante, especially because they were working together before. Besides, Matt had some skills that could prove useful… even if Punisher had to put up with some of his annoying traits. If he refuses, no pressure – Frank can do it alone. But he much rather preferred to have Daredevil as a partner.

Although, he would never admit that.

So Frank started to look for the man. He, obviously, could go to his law firm (since it was no more), and he didn't know where Murdock lived (the soldier probably wouldn't go there either way; as much as he would like to wait for his ex-attorney in his apartment, he thought it won't let him get Red on his side). He wasn't sure where were Matt's favorite hang-out places and he was too in hurry to find out. Punisher even considered plugging into the police radio and listening for any indication of where The Devil of Hell's Kitchen is heading this beautiful night, but he knew it might have take him forever to determine.

And then he experienced an illumination.

That night on the roof, Red asked him if he was a Catholic, when they've heard church's bell. Maybe Red was Catholic too… It made so much sense… At that moment, while chained to the chimney, he tried to find a way to reach to Frank through religion. He also was very fixed on the atonement aspect. The more Punisher thought about it, the more he was convinced that he hit the bull's eye.

So that was a start – he had to look for Daredevil in the churches. Let's limit the area of searching to Hell's Kitchen, because that was where Red was mostly doing his work and where he, probably, lived… And voila – Cathedral of Saint Patrick showed as the first result.

But some part of Frank didn't want to go there. It was long, long time ago, since he entered any church. To be fair, he was never very religious to begin with, and he lost the last ounce of faith in Higher Power, when his family was taken away from him. However, he always assumed that if the mission required it, he would have to enter any kind of building.

Besides, it wasn't that he necessarily had to go inside. He could wait for Red outside the cathedral, where there was a really nice bench to observe everything. It won't be hard to find a man with red shades and white cane.

And so Frank Castle waited. He expected to see Matt Murdock at the morning mass at eight, but his target actually showed an hour earlier. And the more Frank was observing him, the more he realized Red acted weird. The hand he was holding his cane wth, was shaking, and he seemed to be in hurry. It wasn't hard to deduce that something was bothering him.

When the lawyer was going to enter the main gate of the church, Frank finally spoke:

"Hey, Red."

Murdock stopped and turned to him, even though he couldn't see the man, who just spoke to him.

"Great." He growled. "I only needed you here. Whatever you want, Frank, I'm not in the mood." And he started to walk towards the church once again.

Red was upset. To be fair, Frank couldn't remember him being so shaken and aggravated. Most of the time Matt Murdock was calm – on the court, during the fight, even that night at the roof, when he was trying to convince him not to kill. Sure, he was sad, he was worried, he was sometimes even yelling at someone, and maybe, if Punisher would think really hard, he would recall an instance when Daredevil was actually angry. But this… this was different. This time everything about Red was telling him that he was on the edge.

And Frank was actually curious if not a bit worried. What happened? Was Red alright? After few minutes of contemplating whenever he should enter the church or not, Punisher sighed, stood up and went into the temple.

At first he got the impression that it was empty. Punisher suspected to find Daredevil sitting or kneeling, deepened in the prayers. But in the big church with rows of benches, Red was nowhere to be seen. Frank was also hit by the almost unnatural silence ruling in this place. There was something creepy about this. For a moment he really thought that he was the only person here, and he wondered why would Daredevil go there through the main gate just to leave it in different way. Didn't he come here to pray? The uneasiness he felt, being in church, only made it harder to stand.

"I can't go on, father." Someone whispered and Frank almost immediately recognized Red's voice.

And then he realized another thing – Murdock didn't leave the church. He was in the confession booth. Moreover – the silence of the church was currying his words to the place, where Frank was standing.

"Lately I feel like my work is meaningless. I'm fighting every night and day, and nothing ever changes."

The soldier carefully sat down at the nearest bench, trying not to make too much noise. Some part of him thought it was wrong to listen to someone's confession, but the curiosity got best of him. He wanted to know what was on the mind of this man and – most importantly – what was bothering him. Everything else, all of a sudden, didn't matter.

"I've told you, father, what my senses are doing." Daredevil continued and Punisher was instantly intrigued. "I can hear almost everything. Pleading for help, mugger demanding money from their victims, screams… Every night. I'm trying to save everyone, but more often than not, I'm too late. And the noises never stop. I'm painfully aware of suffering of others."

Frank thought for a moment about what he'd just heard. Well, he always wondered how it was possible that Red was such a good fighter, even though he was blind. Sometimes the soldier assumed that this whole blindness was just a ruse to mislead his enemies, but sometimes he was coming to conclusion that Daredevil was well-trained in using his other senses. But Frank would never expect that Red's hearing was that good.

But if what Red was saying right now was true, than it really sucked to be him. Frank tried to imagine how it's like – hearing every bad thing happening in the city. Hearing all those bastards beating, raping, killing and taking advantage of innocent people. And not being fast enough to prevent all of this.

"You're just a human, Matthew." Some other, older voice said, taking Punisher back to reality. "You can't save everybody."

Punisher thought that it wasn't bad reply… although it wasn't good either, giving the circumstances.

Wait a minute, did this mean that the priest in the confession booth knew Daredevil's identity?

"I know, father." Red continued. "But there is always this thought on the back of my head. That there are people who are far gone in their twisted ways to ever change. And beating them to pulp isn't enough. I have this urge… to deal with them once and for all." His voice started to shake. "Some part of me… want to kill them. Get rid of the bad seed of this world."

Back then, on the roof, Frank would think that it was the first sensible decision Red ever made. Back then, Punisher would smile at this turn of events and happily accompany Daredevil with his crusade. But many things happened since Daredevil was chained to the chimney and trying to argue with Punisher. One of those things was Frank opinion on Red's code of ethics.

"Like I said." Murdock's confessor continued. "You can't save everybody. But that doesn't mean you have to stop trying, Matthew."

"I sometimes think," Matt's voice was still shaking. "that it would be better, if I've never started to fight crime. I sacrificed so much and at this point I wonder if it was worth it. My friendship with Foggy… I was lying to him and he is right to be mad at me. I feel like he will never forgive me. And I wouldn't dare to ask for his forgiveness."

"He comes here, you know." The nameless priest said suddenly. "He asks how are you or if you need anything. I think he might have forgave you long time ago. Now he's worried about you. Maybe you should finally talk to him."

"No." Was Red's reply. "He will be better off without me. I want him to be happy and safe. He won't be, if he will get close to me."

"I see." The priest commented.

"Lately, I feel like there's too much pain in the world. Like there's nothing but a sadness and suffering. There's no light in my life. No hope, no happiness, no ray to get me through this horrible times."

There was a moment of silence, in which Daredevil's words sunk in. Punisher realized that his former rival and attorney had his own demons; demons Frank wasn't aware of to this moment. No wonder he felt so shaken, coming here.

Suddenly the sound of quiet weeping echoed through the empty church, and Frank didn't have to imagine who was crying and why. And to be fair, the soldier knew this feeling of hopelessness all too well. He was in that state since his family was killed in front of his eyes. His mind will never let him forget about the worst day of his life, so he was forever doomed to see it and living in it. Red, on the other hand… He was overwhelmed by sounds of people getting hurt. He said it himself – he was aware of the suffering of others, and it was tearing him apart.

And the worst part was that Frank actually wanted to help him, but he didn't know how.

"You're in a dark place, Matthew." The priest spoke once again. His voice was calm and empathetic, but all Frank could think of, hearing it, was: No shit, Sherlock. "It might seem like there is no way you can get out, but believe me, it is possible. You will find the light, eventually."

Hearing this, Frank clenched his fists in aggravation. What kind of lame advice that was?! What was this shaveling thinking?!

"I will be praying for you, Matthew."

Here we go again. Another stupid thing to say. Did he really think his prayers will be of any help? No, they won't. Because the thing Matt came here with, was, in fact, impossible to overcome. The world was a dark place, filled with assholes, and nothing could change that. And certainly prayers couldn't. Frank felt a sudden urge to scream all of this into this stupid priest's face.

Red stopped weeping and after another moment of silence, he said:

"Thank you, father. I really appreciate that."

The priest gave him an absolution and they left the confession booth. Frank could finally see Red's confessor. As he expected, he was an older man (seventy-something year old, maybe), small, wrinkled and half-bald. He looked like the kind of shepherd that would smilingly dismiss his parishioner's doubts and problems with clichés like: "Nobody knows God's will." Frank hated people like that, no matter the religion.

Suddenly the priest noticed a lonely man sitting on a far away bench, but he didn't say anything. Red, on the other hand, also realized Punisher's presence and called:

"Okay, Frank, what do you want?"

His confessor turned from the soldier to Matt, and asked:

"You know this man, Matthew?"

"Yes, I do." The lawyer gave a soft sigh.

Frank decided that this was the good moment to intervene.

"Hey, shaveling!" The soldier stood up and started to getting closer to the two men. "You really think that prayers can help him?!" Once he was few feet away from them he stopped. "You're sitting here all day, away from danger, while he's out there on the streets."

"Frank…" Matt started but Punisher went on:

"I guess, you've never had gun in your hands. Or that you've never had to make a hard decision in your entire life."

"Frank, shut up." Murdock growled.

"You only hear about people getting hurt. You only read about it in newspapers. You've never seen people being hideously cruel to each other. And yet you dare to tell him that everything will be okay."

"Frank, for Pete's sake, shut up."

Interestingly enough, Red was the only one replying to Punisher's accusations. The priest himself remained silent and oddly calm. At the time Frank thought his arguments rendered him speechless, but later realized it was something entirely different.

"Don't talk about things you have no idea, shaveling!" He continued his rant. "Someone like you will never understand how it's like to see all this suffering and not be able to do anything about it!"

"He was a missionary in Rwanda!" Matt screamed. "So yes, he knows how it's like!"

And suddenly it was just silence, as the meaning of Daredevil's words fell on Frank. Rwanda. He knew that name. A moment later, he realized from where. All the stories he ever heard about these fateful events were coming back to him.

And then he felt ashamed of what he just said. For Heaven's sake… what kind of atrocities this man had to witness on his own two eyes? Who knows – maybe he himself lost something or someone during the Rwandian genocide…

"You didn't have to tell him this." The priest said, out of the blue, looking at Matt.

"Yes, I had." Red replied, but then gave a soft sigh and added: "I'm sorry that I revealed something like this, but Frank pissed me off."

With every passing second, Punisher felt more stupid. He made an assumption about the person he barely knew and made a horrible mistake. And it wasn't the first time, which the blind man at his side could confirm.

"I'm sorry, father." Frank said finally and he really meant it. But the priest didn't seem angry or anything.

"Well, then." He looked at the soldier. "Let's start from the beginning." He extended his arm towards Frank. "My name is Lantom."

Frank was observing the old shepherd's hand, wondering if he should shake it or not.

"Is something wrong, son?" Red's confessor said after a moment of Frank just staring and not saying anything.

"I'm not sure if you would want me to shake your hand, if you knew who I am." He finally explained.

"Try me." Father Lantom replied.

"My name is Frank Castle." The Punisher introduced himself.

He expected father Lantom to withdraw his hand. He expected him to look at him with disgust. He expected him to show any kind of animosity after hearing that a multiple murderer was standing in front of him. But nothing of sorts happened. The only reaction the identity of a mysterious man caused in the old shepherd was:

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Of all the things, father Lantom could have said, this one seemed to be the least probable. But when Frank started to think about all the instances when Matt Murdock tried to talk him out of killing bandits; or all the trouble he and his friends went through to defend him in court, even though he was the Punisher, he quickly realized that he shouldn't be all that surprised.

"Thank you, father." He said, smiling sadly. And then he added: "I guess, you would like to be left alone. So I will leave. See you soon, Red."

"See you soon, Frank." Was Matt's response. He even smiled lightly.

Punisher started to walk towards the exit, but he heard father Lantom saying:

"Maybe you would like some coffee?"

Frank stopped and with small grin he turned to the man.

"Maybe some other time, father."

When he left the church, he didn't go anywhere. He just sat on the same bench where he was waiting for Red. He started to reflect on what he had heard today. Murdock wasn't fine. Frank could even say that at this moment he had a vocation crisis. He was only human. Very formidable and capable of ass-kicking, but still only human. A human that desperately tried to fix this world, but he could never save everyone. And this was eating him from the inside. Especially because he not only wanted to save victims, but also the oppressors. Ultimately, his mission was far more difficult than Frank's.

Punisher was sitting on the bench even when people started to come to mass and after said mass ended. It was a chilly day and he knew, he would have to go on his mission eventually, but at that time, he felt like just sitting there and let his mind wander.

Suddenly someone sat beside him. When Frank turned to that person, he saw Red himself. For a moment they were both silent, until Murdock decided to speak:

"Remember what you've told me on the roof?"

"I've said many things, Red. You have to be more precise."

"You said that we don't choose what make us whole. For you it's shooting to the bad guys and for me it's this." He pointed his chin at the building behind them.

Punisher could not believe in God, but Daredevil did. He needed that to remain sane, to remain human, to not forsake his principals. He also needed a priest, who will listen to him and who will know firsthand that one day there might be a light in a dark place.

"I… understand. I'm sorry once again." Frank said. Another moment of silence and he continued: "You remember what else I've said on that roof? I've called you coward."

"Yes, you were very charming."

"The thing is," Frank turned to his interlocutor. "I didn't know you back then. I only assumed that you must be some kind of goody-two-shoes, who thinks he's better than me and doesn't understand the consequences of his actions. But then you've saved me. You took my case, you and your friends tried to get to the bottom line of what was happening. That was because you wanted to give me second chance and believed I deserved one."

"Well, Karen believed it too…" Matt cut in, but it didn't disturb Frank:

"I've also got to fight beside you. I grew to respect you."

"Yeah?" Daredevil raised his eyebrow.

"It's not as easy as someone would have expect, not to kill your opponents. And yet, you're always going out of your way to avoid killing. I admire you for that."

"Thanks." Red smiled. "I needed to hear that."

I guess, you did, Frank thought.

"By the way, I like your priest." He added suddenly. "You and him suit to each other."

Daredevil chuckled and once again both men were sitting in silence, before one of them decided to break it:

"He was right about one thing: you can't save everybody, Red. So when you encounter some bad guy that can't be saved, just tell me his name."

"I'm sure, I can take care of them myself." Murdock smiled again. "But thanks for the offer."

In the end, Red agreed to help him with his mission, but under one condition – Frank won't kill anybody. Punisher said he couldn't make any promises, nevertheless, he tried to avoid killing. When they finished, they both had a sense of accomplishment.

And when they parted ways, Frank could see a smile on Matt's face. One of many that day. It was actually good to see him smile after all the things Frank heard from him in the church. Maybe he'd already seen the light. Frank really hoped so.